Despite being deprived of the best leadout train in cycling, Sky’s Mark Cavendish showed that he is still “The Fastest Man in the World,” winning his 21st Tour de France stage, Stage Two of his fifth Tour.
At this pace Cavendish could pass the record 34 wins of Eddy Merckx by the time he is 30.
Most impressive is that Cavendish won this one on his own.
After four years of being delivered perfectly to the line by Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw, Cavendish found himself racing his old teammates. Cav adapted. He showed he knows how to follow wheels and fight for position; he showed that despite not having a train of riders protecting him, the Manx Missile understands sprint strategy perfectly.
{ad}500 meters from the line, Cavendish was two dozen riders from the front.; 100 meters later, he was third, on the wheel of Lotto’s André Greipel (another former HTC teammate) letting Greipel’s leadout rider, Greg henderson, pull them both along. Coming into the final 100 meters, Cavendish pulled out, pulled level, and pulled past the Lotto rider, crossing the line half a wheel ahead.
RadioShack’s Fabian Cancellara keeps the yellow jersey headed into the hilly 197-km Stage Three, which features six categorized climgs: two 3s and fourf 4s including a cat 4 uphill finish. This will likely be another stage where power riders like Peter Sagan, Fabian Cancellara, and Philippe Gilbert vie for the win.
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